The Bum's 2017 NBA Best Bets-Trends-News Thru Playoffs !

[StarDust Bum]

MONDAY, DECEMBER 25
GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS

PHI at NY
NY -1.5
U 210.5

CLE at GS 03:00 PM
GS -5.0
U 217.0

WAS at BOS 05:30 PM
BOS -4.5
O 206.5

HOU at OKC 08:00 PM
HOU -1.5
U 216.5

MIN at LAL 10:30 PM
LAL +5.5
O 216.0

[StarDust Bum]

NBA roundup: Durant's defense seals win over Cavs
December 25, 2017

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Klay Thompson broke a late tie with a 3-pointer and Kevin Durant protected the lead with two key defensive plays on LeBron James, lifting the Golden State Warriors to a 99-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA's marquee matchup on Christmas Day.

Neither team led by more than nine points in the tightly contested rematch of last spring's NBA Finals, which the Warriors won in five games.

Durant, despite just 8-for-19 shooting, had 25 points to pace the Warriors, who have won six of their last seven at home against the Cavaliers.

Kevin Love had a game-high 31 points and 18 rebounds for the Cavaliers. James was held to 20 points on 7-for-18 shooting.

Sixers 105, Knicks 98

NEW YORK -- Joel Embiid had 25 points and 16 rebounds, and J.J. Redick added 24 points with four 3-pointers as Philadelphia snapped its season-high five-game losing streak.

Enes Kanter had 31 points -- including 14 in the third quarter -- and 22 rebounds, and Kristaps Porzingis added 22 points for the Knicks, who have lost three of four after winning four straight.

Ben Simmons, who struggled offensively and finished with eight points, had a crucial steal and breakaway dunk with 1 minute, 6 seconds left, jumping in front of a Porzingis pass and taking it the other way to give the 76ers an eight-point cushion. He then forced a turnover on New York's next possession, and Philadelphia was able to juice the clock late.

Wizards 111, Celtics 103

BOSTON -- Kelly Oubre Jr. and Bradley Beal both scored five straight points during a late 12-0 run, leading Washington past Boston.

It was the first time the Celtics played at home on Christmas, and they were fighting an uphill battle throughout the game. They wiped out an 11-point third-quarter deficit and led by five before the Wizards (19-15) caught fire.

Beal scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds and John Wall had 21 points, 14 assists and five boards. Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum led the Celtics with 20 points apiece.

Thunder 112, Rockets 107

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook scored 31 points to lift Oklahoma City over Houston.

Westbrook outdueled James Harden, who finished with 29 points.

Paul George added 24 and Carmelo Anthony 20 for the Thunder, who extended their season-long winning streak to five games.

Trevor Ariza and Eric Gordon scored 20 for the Rockets, who lost for the third consecutive time after winning 14 consecutive games.

Timberwolves 121, Lakers 104

LOS ANGELES -- Taj Gibson and Jimmy Butler scored 24 points apiece and Minnesota continued its best start in 14 years with a victory against Los Angeles.

Karl-Anthony Towns had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Jamal Crawford contributed 19 points off the bench for the Timberwolves, who shot a season-high 58.3 percent from the floor.

Kyle Kuzma made 6 of 11 3-pointers and scored 31 points to lead the Lakers. Jordan Clarkson added 17 points and Julius Randle scored 16 off the bench.

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR TUESDAY DECEMBER 26, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:00 PM Indiana Pacers Detroit Pistons Little Caesars Arena
7:00 PM Toronto Raptors Dallas Mavericks American Airlines Center
7:30 PM Orlando Magic Miami Heat AmericanAirlines Arena
8:00 PM Chicago Bulls Milwaukee Bucks BMO Harris Bradley Center
8:30 PM Brooklyn Nets San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center
9:00 PM Memphis Grizzlies Phoenix Suns Talking Stick Resort Arena
9:00 PM Utah Jazz Denver Nuggets Pepsi Center
10:30 PM Sacramento Kings Los Angeles Clippers Staples Center

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DECEMBER NBA BEST BETS & OPINIONS (BASED ON 5 UNITS )

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

12/25/2017 5-5-0 50.00% -2.50
12/23/2017 10-15-0 40.00% -32.50
12/22/2017 7-9-1 43.75% -14.50
12/21/2017 5-5-0 50.00% -2.50
12/20/2017 14-6-0 70.00% +37.00
12/19/2017 3-3-0 50.00% -1.50
12/18/2017 7-13-0 35.00% -36.50
12/17/2017 3-5-0 37.50% -12.50
12/16/2017..........NO PLAYS
12/15/2017 13-6-0 68.42% +32.00
12/14/2017 5-5-0 50.00% -2.50
12/13/2017 3-6-0 33.33% -18.00
12/12/2017 5-9-0 35.71% -24.50
12/11/2017......... NO PLAYS
12/10/2017 6-6-0 50.00% -3.00
12/09/2017 6-13-0 31.58% -41.50
12/08/2017 7-9-0 43.75% -14.50
12/07/2017 3-5-0 37.50% -12.50
12/06/2017 10-8-2 55.55% +6.00
12/05/2017 5-1-0 83.33% +19.50
12/04/2017 6-10-0 37.50% -25.00
12/03/2017 5-5-0 50.00% -2.50
12/02/2017 7-8-1 46.66% -9.00
12/01/2017 4-12-0 30.00% -46.00

Totals.........129- 156......45.26%.......-213.00

BEST BETS:.......................ATS................... ......UNITS...........................O/U............................UNITS

12/25/2017..................1 - 3........................-11.50..................................3 - 1.........................+9.50
12/23/2017..................4 - 6........................-13.00.................................4 - 6........................-13.00
12/22/2017..................2 - 3.........................-6.50..................................3 - 3........................-1.50
12/21/2017..................2 - 3.........................-6.50..................................3 - 2........................+4.50
12/20/2017..................7 - 2........................+24.00................... ............4 - 2........................+9.00
12/19/2017..................1 - 2.........................-6.00..................................2 - 1.......................+4.50
12/18/2017..................2 - 5.........................-17.50................................2 - 7.......................-28.50
12/17/2-17...................2 - 2 ........................-1.00.................................1 - 2 ........................-6.00
12/16/2017......................................N O P L A Y S................................................. ...............
12/15/2017..................4 - 1..........................+14.50................. ............4 - 3........................+3.50
12/14/2017....................2 - 0..........................+10.00................. ...........2 - 2........................-1.00
12/13/2017....................1 - 3..........................-11.50.............................1- 2.........................-6.00
12/12/2017..................1 - 4...........................-17.00............................3 - 2.........................+4.00
12/11/2017...................................... N O P L A Y S................................................. .............
12/10/2017.................1 - 3...........................-11.50............................3 - 0.........................+15.00
12/09/2017...................1 - 6...........................-28.00............................3 -1..........................+4.50
12/08/2017....................3 - 2...........................+4.00................. ..........3 - 3..........................-1.50
12/07/2017....................0 - 2...........................-11.00...........................2 - 1.........................+4.50
12/06/2017................2 - 2 - 1.........................-1.00..........................4 - 1 - 1......................+14.50
12/05/2017..................2 - 1...........................+4.50................. ..........3 - 0.........................+15.00
12/04/2017..................4 - 4...........................-2.00.............................1 - 3..........................-11.50
12/03/2017..................2 - 2...........................-1.00............................ 2 - 1..........................+4.50
12/02/2017..................1 - 3 - 1......................-11.50...........................4 - 3..........................+3.50
12/01/2017..................2 - 5 - 1......................-17.50...........................1 - 3..........................-11.50

Totals....................47 - 64 - 3........................-117.00......................58 - 62- 1.......................+15.50

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Tuesday's six-pack

Updated odds to win the college basketball national title:

7-2— Duke

4-1— Michigan State

5-1— Villanova

10-1— Arizona

12-1— Kansas, Kentucky

15-1— Gonzaga, Wichita State


**********

Armadillo: Tuesday's List of 13: No one asked me, but……

13) NFL didn’t flex a game into primetime this week; they’ll have seven 1:00 games, and then all nine games with playoff implications will be at 4:25. Should be a fun day of football.

12) This will be first time since 1995 the NFL went consecutive weeks without a Sunday night game, but this Week 17 thing makes sense. Makes it little tougher for handicappers, though.

11) Todd Gurley is the first NFL player since Herschel Walker in 1986 to log 100 yards rushing and 150 yards receiving in the same game.

10) Unsolicited opinion: Minnesota Vikings need to sign Case Keenum as their QB going forward- if they choose Sam Bradford over Keenum, they’re ignoring the evidence in front of their faces. As for Teddy Bridgewater, I guess a lot depends on how his knee is.

As a Ram fan, I’ve seen a lot of both Bradford, Keenum; Keenum is a gym rat, a guy teammates rally behind, a leader. Bradford gets hurt a lot; he’s not bad, but look at his career record.

9) Jerry Jones’ grandson is a 5-10, 180-pound QB who just won two HS state titles in Texas; he has scholarship offers from Texas Tech, Arkansas, but those schools might be recruiting Jerry’s wallet as much as the kid. College sports can be like that.

What are the odds that five years from now, when Jerry is 80, Cowboys draft the grandson?

8) UCLA QB Josh Rosen is sitting out the Cactus Bowl with concussion-related issues; will be interesting to see if Rosen/Darnold enter the draft or go back to school for another year. And if Rosen/Darnold both balk at Cleveland and go back to college, do the Browns take Josh Allen?

7) If you care about such things, baseball’s 2018 winter meetings are at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas next December 9-13. Good place to have them.

6) Halftime score from Saturday: Oklahoma 68, Northwestern 38. Sooners scored 68 points in a half against a Big 14 team- think they were 14-20 on the arc in that half.

5) New Mexico State beat Miami 63-54 Saturday, their first win over a top 10 team since 1990. Back then, the Aggies and Cal-Santa Barbara were always chasing UNLV in the Big West- they had some really good teams.

4) Movie scenes that could never be made today: In the 1982 movie The Verdict, Paul Newman plays a down-on-his-luck lawyer who stumbles onto a big wrongful death case that he should win, but then he finds out his girlfriend is actually a double agent for the plaintiffs.

Newman finds this out just before he is supposed to meet the girlfriend in a bar; he walks in, sees her and decks her with one punch. Don’t think that scene would get by the censors these days.

3) Pet peeve; Norm Stewart, Gene Keady and Mike Montgomery are in the College Basketball Hall of Fame, and Jerry Tarkanian isn’t; on which planet does that make sense?

Tarkanian is in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield; this college HOF is in Kansas City– they need to change how their inductees are chosen.

2) Funny how in NFL games played in the snow or really cold weather, there are a lot fewer penalties called. Refs want to get the hell out of there.

1) Congrats to Fresno State’s football team, which went 10-4 this year after going 1-11 LY. Jeff Tedford did a great job in his first year in Fresno- he was Aaron Rodgers’ coach at Cal and also was a head coach in the CDL— the man knows his stuff.

[StarDust Bum]

NBA
Dunkel

Tuesday, December 26

Toronto @ Dallas

Game 501-502
December 26, 2017 @ 7:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Toronto
120.228
Dallas
118.769
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Toronto
by 1 1/2
214
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Toronto
by 5 1/2
207
Dunkel Pick:
Dallas
(+5 1/2); Over

Indiana @ Detroit

Game 503-504
December 26, 2017 @ 7:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Indiana
119.746
Detroit
118.343
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Indiana
by 1 1/2
201
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Detroit
by 2
208 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Indiana
(+2); Under

Orlando @ Miami

Game 505-506
December 26, 2017 @ 7:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Orlando
111.423
Miami
121.897
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Miami
by 10 1/2
202
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Miami
No Line
N/A
Dunkel Pick:
Miami
N/A

Chicago @ Milwaukee

Game 507-508
December 26, 2017 @ 8:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Chicago
112.007
Milwaukee
121.515
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Milwaukee
by 9 1/2
207
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Milwaukee
by 6 1/2
211
Dunkel Pick:
Milwaukee
(-6 1/2); Under

Brooklyn @ San Antonio

Game 509-510
December 26, 2017 @ 8:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Brooklyn
114.312
San Antonio
121.420
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
San Antonio
by 7
196
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
San Antonio
by 12
208 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Brooklyn
(+12); Under

Utah @ Denver

Game 511-512
December 26, 2017 @ 9:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Utah
116.723
Denver
119.098
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Denver
by 2 1/2
210
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Denver
by 6
203 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Utah
(+6); Over

Memphis @ Phoenix

Game 513-514
December 26, 2017 @ 9:05 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Memphis
115.785
Phoenix
111.398
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Memphis
by 4 1/2
198
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Memphis
by 1
206
Dunkel Pick:
Memphis
(-1); Under

Sacramento @ LA Clippers

Game 515-516
December 26, 2017 @ 10:35 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Sacramento
109.812
LA Clippers
118.902
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
LA Clippers
by 9
208
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
LA Clippers
by 5
204 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
LA Clippers
(-5); Over

[StarDust Bum]

NBA
Long Sheet

Tuesday, December 26

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TORONTO (23 - 8) at DALLAS (9 - 25) - 12/26/2017, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DALLAS is 391-323 ATS (+35.7 Units) as an underdog since 1996.
TORONTO is 39-23 ATS (+13.7 Units) in the first half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
TORONTO is 26-14 ATS (+10.6 Units) after a win by 10 points or more over the last 2 seasons.
DALLAS is 30-49 ATS (-23.9 Units) in home games versus good offensive teams - scoring 106+ points/game since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
TORONTO is 3-1 against the spread versus DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
TORONTO is 4-0 straight up against DALLAS over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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INDIANA (19 - 14) at DETROIT (18 - 14) - 12/26/2017, 7:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
INDIANA is 13-1 ATS (+11.9 Units) in road games when playing with 2 days rest over the last 3 seasons.
INDIANA is 28-14 ATS (+12.6 Units) vs. division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
INDIANA is 58-39 ATS (+15.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
INDIANA is 8-3 against the spread versus DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
INDIANA is 8-3 straight up against DETROIT over the last 3 seasons
6 of 11 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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ORLANDO (11 - 23) at MIAMI (17 - 16) - 12/26/2017, 7:35 PM
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.

Head-to-Head Series History
ORLANDO is 5-4 against the spread versus MIAMI over the last 3 seasons
ORLANDO is 5-4 straight up against MIAMI over the last 3 seasons
7 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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CHICAGO (10 - 22) at MILWAUKEE (17 - 14) - 12/26/2017, 8:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MILWAUKEE is 394-458 ATS (-109.8 Units) in home games since 1996.

Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 5-4 against the spread versus MILWAUKEE over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 5-4 straight up against MILWAUKEE over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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BROOKLYN (12 - 20) at SAN ANTONIO (23 - 11) - 12/26/2017, 8:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SAN ANTONIO is 1021-894 ATS (+37.6 Units) in all games since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 817-696 ATS (+51.4 Units) as a favorite since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 521-435 ATS (+42.5 Units) in home games since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 29-14 ATS (+13.6 Units) in December games over the last 3 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 60-38 ATS (+18.2 Units) in the first half of the season over the last 3 seasons.
SAN ANTONIO is 153-109 ATS (+33.1 Units) on Tuesday nights since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 340-279 ATS (+33.1 Units) in non-conference games since 1996.
SAN ANTONIO is 415-333 ATS (+48.7 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record since 1996.
BROOKLYN is 15-4 ATS (+10.6 Units) in road games on Tuesday nights since 1996.
BROOKLYN is 7-0 ATS (+7.0 Units) after scoring 115 points or more this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
SAN ANTONIO is 4-0 against the spread versus BROOKLYN over the last 3 seasons
SAN ANTONIO is 4-0 straight up against BROOKLYN over the last 3 seasons
3 of 4 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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UTAH (15 - 19) at DENVER (18 - 15) - 12/26/2017, 9:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
DENVER is 1-9 ATS (-8.9 Units) after a win by 10 points or more this season.

Head-to-Head Series History
UTAH is 6-3 against the spread versus DENVER over the last 3 seasons
UTAH is 8-2 straight up against DENVER over the last 3 seasons
9 of 10 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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MEMPHIS (10 - 23) at PHOENIX (12 - 23) - 12/26/2017, 9:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
MEMPHIS is 10-21 ATS (-13.1 Units) in all games this season.
MEMPHIS is 2-11 ATS (-10.1 Units) as a favorite this season.
MEMPHIS is 10-21 ATS (-13.1 Units) in the first half of the season this season.
MEMPHIS is 4-14 ATS (-11.4 Units) when playing with 2 days rest over the last 2 seasons.
MEMPHIS is 1-10 ATS (-10.0 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
PHOENIX is 161-117 ATS (+32.3 Units) after allowing 115 points or more since 1996.
PHOENIX is 7-18 ATS (-12.8 Units) when playing with 2 days rest over the last 3 seasons.
PHOENIX is 36-53 ATS (-22.3 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
PHOENIX is 4-4 against the spread versus MEMPHIS over the last 3 seasons
MEMPHIS is 5-3 straight up against PHOENIX over the last 3 seasons
4 of 8 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

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SACRAMENTO (11 - 21) at LA CLIPPERS (13 - 19) - 12/26/2017, 10:35 PM
Top Trends for this game.
SACRAMENTO is 7-18 ATS (-12.8 Units) when playing with 2 days rest over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
SACRAMENTO is 5-4 against the spread versus LA CLIPPERS over the last 3 seasons
LA CLIPPERS is 7-2 straight up against SACRAMENTO over the last 3 seasons
5 of 9 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons

[StarDust Bum]

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Tuesday, December 26

Raptors won their last four games with Dallas; they’re 4-1 vs spread in last five visits here. Six of last seven series games stayed under the total. Toronto won its last six games, covered last five; they’re 6-4 vs spread as road favorites. Under is 5-3 in their last eight games. Dallas lost eight of its last ten games; they’re 4-6 vs spread as home underdogs. Mavericks’ last three games went over total.

Pacers won seven of last nine games with Detroit; they’re 2-2 vs spread in last four visits to the Motor City (over 3-1). Indiana won three of its last four games; they’re 4-1 in last five games as road underdogs. Six of their last nine games stayed under total. Detroit won four of its last five games; they’re 1-5 in last six games as home favorites. Last three Piston games went over the total.

Orlando won its last four games with Miami; they’re 2-3 vs spread in last five visits here. Six of last seven series games went over total. Orlando lost its last eight games; they’re 1-6 vs spread in last seven games as road underdogs. Four of their last six games stayed under total. Miami won six of its last nine games; they’re 1-6-1 as home favorites. Seven of their last nine games stayed under.

Road team won five of last six Chicago-Milwaukee games; Bulls are 4-2 vs spread in last six visits to Wisconsin. Last three series games went over total. Chicago lost its last two games after a 7-game winning streak; they’re 5-1 in last six games as road underdogs. Six of their last nine games went over total. Milwaukee lost four of its last six games; they’re 6-6-2 as home favorites. Bucks’ last eight games went over total.

Spurs won last four games with Brooklyn, which is 0-5 vs spread in last five visits to the Alamo. Six of last seven series games stayed under the total. Brooklyn lost five of its last six games; they’re 2-4 vs spread as home favorites. Under is 10-2 in their last 12 games. San Antonio won four of its last five games; they’re 9-6 vs spread as home favorites. Under is 5-3 in their last eight games.

Home side won last six Utah-Denver games; Jazz are 2-2 vs spread in last four visits here. Nine of last ten series games stayed under the total. Utah lost eight of its last ten games; they’re 4-8 vs spread as road underdogs. Four of their last five games stayed under. Denver split its last eight games; they’re 5-2 in last seven games as home favorites. Three of their last four games stayed under.

Memphis won four of last five games with the Suns; they’re 2-3 vs spread in last five visits to Phoenix. Over is 5-5 in last ten series games. Memphis lost 16 of its last 19 games; they’re 0-3 vs spread as road favorites. Under is 5-1-1 in their last seven games. Phoenix won three of its last I’ve games; they’re 5-9 vs spread as home underdogs. Seven of their last nine games stayed under.

Clippers won eight of last ten games with Sacramento; three of last four series games stayed under. Kings are 3-1 vs spread in last four series games played here. Sacramento is 4-6 in its last ten games; they’re 7-2 in last nine games as road underdogs. Five of their last seven games stayed under. Clippers lost four of their last six games; they’re 6-4 as home favorites. Three of their last four games went over.

[StarDust Bum]

NBA

Tuesday, December 26

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Trend Report
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

INDIANA @ DETROIT
Indiana is 7-1 ATS in its last 8 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Indiana's last 5 games on the road
Detroit is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of Detroit's last 9 games when playing at home against Indiana

TORONTO @ DALLAS
Toronto is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
Toronto is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Dallas's last 7 games when playing Toronto
Dallas is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games at home

ORLANDO @ MIAMI
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Orlando's last 7 games when playing Miami
Orlando is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Miami
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Miami's last 7 games when playing Orlando
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Miami's last 6 games at home

CHICAGO @ MILWAUKEE
Chicago is 9-1 ATS in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Chicago's last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 5 games at home

BROOKLYN @ SAN ANTONIO
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Brooklyn's last 8 games when playing San Antonio
Brooklyn is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
San Antonio is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against Brooklyn
San Antonio is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Brooklyn

MEMPHIS @ PHOENIX
Memphis is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Phoenix
Memphis is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Phoenix
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Phoenix's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Phoenix's last 13 games when playing at home against Memphis

UTAH @ DENVER
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Utah's last 11 games when playing Denver
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Utah's last 11 games when playing on the road against Denver
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Denver's last 11 games when playing Utah
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Denver's last 11 games when playing at home against Utah

SACRAMENTO @ LA CLIPPERS
Sacramento is 5-2 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Sacramento's last 7 games
LA Clippers is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Sacramento
LA Clippers is 7-2 ATS in its last 9 games

[StarDust Bum]

NBA betting roadmap: Over streak in Milwaukee thanks to Bledsoe boost
Al McMordie

The Suns are expected to see their leading scorer Devin Booker return to the lineup this week. Phoenix struggled to fill the hoop without Booker and played under the total in seven of nine games.

Spread Watch

The Orlando Magic are in a massive tailspin. Frank Vogel's men have gone 3-19 straight up and 5-16-1 against the spread after starting the season with an 8-4 straight up and 7-5 ATS record. And the news got worse on Saturday when the Magic lost their eighth straight game in a 130-103 blowout loss in Washington.

Center Nikola Vucevic fractured the first metacarpal in his left hand and will be sidelined indefinitely. Vucevic is averaging 17.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game and hitting a career-best, 1.5 triples a night.

The Magic play two games against the Miami Heat this week, on Tuesday and Saturday, sandwiched around a home game vs. Detroit on Thursday. Orlando plays Tuesday's contest at Miami with two days' of rest is enough for me to pull the trigger on the downward-spiraling team. Away underdogs with two days’ rest and coming off six straight losses and three straight ATS defeats own a 64.6 percent cover rate since 1990. Moreover, the Magic have won and covered their last four meetings with their Sunshine State rival -- and they were underdogs in each of those four games.

Take Orlando and the points on Tuesday.

Totals Watch

The Milwaukee Bucks traded for Eric Bledsoe on November 7. Not surprisingly, there was an adjustment period over the next two weeks where the Bucks offense sputtered. In Bledsoe's first six games, Milwaukee averaged just 94.6 points per game and reached the 100-point mark just once in Bledsoe’s first six games.

But after that two-week period Milwaukee's offense has been in overdrive. The Bucks are riding a 15-game streak of scoring at least 100 and are averaging 109.1 points per game over the stretch. The 15-game run of hitting the century-mark in points is the 3rd longest active streak behind only Cleveland (26 games) and Houston (24 games).

The Bucks rank seventh in adjusted offensive efficiency on the season. Not surprisingly, the over is 14-1 in Milwaukee's last 15 games. The Bucks will play a tough schedule with home games versus Chicago and Minnesota, before a road tilt at Oklahoma City.

Will the high-scoring games continue? Friday's game against the Thunder will be a tough test for the Bucks' attack. OKC is giving up just 99.7 points per game and it held Giannis and Company to just 91 points in the season's first meeting back on Halloween.

OKC has gone under the total in 20 of its 33 games and eight of the last 10 meetings between these two franchises have gone under – including the last four in a row.

Injury Watch

The Phoenix Suns will welcome back their best player, Devin Booker, on Tuesday, when they host the Memphis Grizzlies. Booker has been sidelined for the last 20 days with a strained left adductor muscle, which he injured in Phoenix's 126-113 loss at Toronto.

Coach Jay Triano admitted he may have to limit Booker's minutes:

"If he's starting to look tired, [we'll] get him out."

Phoenix is 3-6 SU and 5-4 ATS since Booker went on the shelf. There's no doubt that the Suns have missed Booker, who is averaging 24.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. They averaged 107.6 points per game before his injury and just 100.4 since. The over is 16-10 in Phoenix’s games with Booker in the lineup and 2-7 without him.

The Suns play home games against Memphis (Tuesday) and Philadelphia (Sunday) with a road game at Sacramento on Friday.

Phoenix might struggle a little bit in Booker's first game back because it's sometimes difficult for teams to initially integrate a big piece after an extended time off. Bettors just saw that happen in San Antonio where the Spurs lost their first two games after the return Kawhi Leonard.

That marks Tuesday’s contest against Memphis as a good opportunity to fade Phoenix. The Suns took down the Grizzlies 97-95 last Thursday and the Suns are 3-14 SU and 5-12 ATS when playing an opponent they defeated earlier in the season.

Take Memphis on Tuesday.

Schedule Watch

The Oklahoma City Thunder are starting to play much better basketball. Billy Donovan’s squad dropped to 8-12 SU after an upset loss to the Magic at the end of November. But the Thunder are 10-3 that game and are riding a four-game win streak.

This week, the Thunder have a home-heavy schedule with home dates vs. Houston, Toronto, Milwaukee and Dallas. Of these four games, the one bettors should circle Sunday's match with the Mavericks.

OKC was upset by Dallas as a 6-point favorite back on November 25. The Thunder are 65-39 ATS since March 28, 2006 when playing with revenge from an upset loss. Expect OKC to blow out Dallas.

[StarDust Bum]

NBA roundup: Mavericks upset Raptors
December 26, 2017

PHOENIX -- Tyson Chandler slammed home an alley-oop dunk off a Dragan Bender inbounds feed with four-tenths of a second left, and the Phoenix Suns held off the Memphis Grizzlies for the second time in six days with a 99-97 win on Tuesday night.

Memphis tied the score at 97 when Jarell Martin slammed home a Tyreke Evans miss with six-tenths of a second left and the teams seems headed to overtime. With the subsequent inbounds play moved to midcourt, Bender threw the ball just over the far side of the rim, where Chandler was waiting to slam it down.

Devin Booker had 32 points in his return to the lineup for the Suns, who beat the Grizzlies 97-95 on Dec. 21 when Evans missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer. TJ Warren finished with 17 points for Phoenix, which gave coach Jay Triano his 100th NBA win.

Evans had 25 points and Marc Gasol scored 18 for Memphis, which lost for the 20th time in 24 games.

Mavericks 98, Raptors 93

DALLAS -- J.J. Barea scored a team-high 20 points to lead Dallas past Toronto.

Dirk Nowitzki (18 points), Harrison Barnes (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Maxi Kleber (15 points) also were the big producers for Dallas, which earned just their third win in 11 games.

Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 23 points, Jonas Valanciunas finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Serge Ibaka had 11 points and 12 rebounds. Toronto lost for just the second time in 14 games.

Spurs 109, Nets 97

SAN ANTONIO -- Kawhi Leonard scored a season-high 21 points while seeing the court for a season-most 26 minutes as Antonio defeated Brooklyn.

LaMarcus Aldridge finished with 20 points and nine rebounds, and Pau Gasol nabbed his third double-double in a row with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Spurs. Tony Parker scored 14 points, and Patty Mills and Ginobili tallied 11 each for San Antonio.

Caris LeVert hit on 8 of 11 shots and led Brooklyn with 18 points. Allen Crabbe contributed 15, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson hit for 13 points and Spencer Dinwiddie and Jarrett Allen had 12 points apiece for the Nets.

Pistons 107, Pacers 83

DETROIT -- Tobias Harris scored 26 of his 30 points in the first half, and Detroit won for the fifth time in six games, thumping Indiana.

Andre Drummond supplied 21 points and 18 rebounds for the Pistons, who never trailed. Ish Smith added 12 points, and Reggie Bullock chipped in 11. Pistons point guard Reggie Jackson sprained his right ankle during the third quarter. Jackson had eight points and a season-high 13 assists prior to the injury.

Victor Oladipo, who came into the game averaging 25.3 points, scored a season-low 13 points for Indiana. Bojan Bogdanovic, Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis added 10 points apiece for the Pacers.

Bulls 115, Bucks 106

MILWAUKEE -- Nikola Mirotic scored 24 points off the bench, and Kris Dunn finished with 20 as Chicago snapped a two-game losing streak.

Dunn bounced back from a 1-for-12 showing his last time out against the Boston Celtics. He hit 9 of 17 shots Tuesday and added 12 assists. The Bulls shot 43.7 percent from the floor and made 10 3-pointers.

Milwaukee got 28 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo and 22 from Eric Bledsoe. The Bucks committed a season-high 20 turnovers that the Bulls turned into 24 points.

Heat 107, Magic 89

MIAMI -- Josh Richardson scored 14 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter to lead Miami past Orlando.

Wayne Ellington scored 18 points off the bench, including 12 in the fourth, for the Heat, who got starting center Hassan Whiteside back from a 13-game knee-injury absence. Whiteside produced seven points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes.

Evan Fournier returned after missing eight games due to an injured right ankle and scored 14 points in 30 minutes for the Magic, who have lost nine games in a row. Orlando's Elfrid Payton had 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Nuggets 107, Jazz 83

DENVER -- Jamal Murray scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds, Trey Lyles added 16 points and eight rebounds against his former team, and Denver beat Utah.

Nikola Jokic had 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists before being ejected early in the fourth quarter, but the Nuggets closed it out to win their third straight.

Derrick Favors led Utah with 20 points, Jonas Jerebko scored 13 and rookie Donovan Mitchell had 13 points and six assists. The Jazz lost for the ninth time in 11 games.

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 27, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:00 PM Boston Celtics Charlotte Hornets Spectrum Center
7:00 PM Dallas Mavericks Indiana Pacers Bankers Life Fieldhouse
7:30 PM Washington Wizards Atlanta Hawks Philips Arena
8:00 PM Brooklyn Nets New Orleans Pelicans Smoothie King Center
8:00 PM Denver Nuggets Minnesota Timberwolves Target Center
8:00 PM New York Knicks Chicago Bulls United Center
8:00 PM Toronto Raptors Oklahoma City Thunder Chesapeake Energy Arena
10:00 PM Cleveland Cavaliers Sacramento Kings Golden 1 Center
10:30 PM Memphis Grizzlies Los Angeles Lakers Staples Center
10:30 PM Utah Jazz Golden State Warriors ORACLE Arena

*********************

DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

12/26/2017 N O P L A Y S
12/25/2017 5-5-0 50.00% -2.50
12/23/2017 10-15-0 40.00% -32.50
12/22/2017 7-9-1 43.75% -14.50
12/21/2017 5-5-0 50.00% -2.50
12/20/2017 14-6-0 70.00% +37.00
12/19/2017 3-3-0 50.00% -1.50
12/18/2017 7-13-0 35.00% -36.50
12/17/2017 3-5-0 37.50% -12.50
12/16/2017..........NO PLAYS
12/15/2017 13-6-0 68.42% +32.00
12/14/2017 5-5-0 50.00% -2.50
12/13/2017 3-6-0 33.33% -18.00
12/12/2017 5-9-0 35.71% -24.50
12/11/2017......... NO PLAYS
12/10/2017 6-6-0 50.00% -3.00
12/09/2017 6-13-0 31.58% -41.50
12/08/2017 7-9-0 43.75% -14.50
12/07/2017 3-5-0 37.50% -12.50
12/06/2017 10-8-2 55.55% +6.00
12/05/2017 5-1-0 83.33% +19.50
12/04/2017 6-10-0 37.50% -25.00
12/03/2017 5-5-0 50.00% -2.50
12/02/2017 7-8-1 46.66% -9.00
12/01/2017 4-12-0 30.00% -46.00

Totals.........129- 156......45.26%.......-213.00

BEST BETS:.......................ATS................... ......UNITS...........................O/U............................UNITS

12/26/2017............................................ N O P L A Y S................................................. ...........0.00
12/25/2017..................1 - 3........................-11.50..................................3 - 1.........................+9.50
12/23/2017..................4 - 6........................-13.00.................................4 - 6........................-13.00
12/22/2017..................2 - 3.........................-6.50..................................3 - 3........................-1.50
12/21/2017..................2 - 3.........................-6.50..................................3 - 2........................+4.50
12/20/2017..................7 - 2........................+24.00................... ............4 - 2........................+9.00
12/19/2017..................1 - 2.........................-6.00..................................2 - 1.......................+4.50
12/18/2017..................2 - 5.........................-17.50................................2 - 7.......................-28.50
12/17/2-17...................2 - 2 ........................-1.00.................................1 - 2 ........................-6.00
12/16/2017......................................N O P L A Y S................................................. ...............
12/15/2017..................4 - 1..........................+14.50................. ............4 - 3........................+3.50
12/14/2017....................2 - 0..........................+10.00................. ...........2 - 2........................-1.00
12/13/2017....................1 - 3..........................-11.50.............................1- 2.........................-6.00
12/12/2017..................1 - 4...........................-17.00............................3 - 2.........................+4.00
12/11/2017...................................... N O P L A Y S................................................. .............
12/10/2017.................1 - 3...........................-11.50............................3 - 0.........................+15.00
12/09/2017...................1 - 6...........................-28.00............................3 -1..........................+4.50
12/08/2017....................3 - 2...........................+4.00................. ..........3 - 3..........................-1.50
12/07/2017....................0 - 2...........................-11.00...........................2 - 1.........................+4.50
12/06/2017................2 - 2 - 1.........................-1.00..........................4 - 1 - 1......................+14.50
12/05/2017..................2 - 1...........................+4.50................. ..........3 - 0.........................+15.00
12/04/2017..................4 - 4...........................-2.00.............................1 - 3..........................-11.50
12/03/2017..................2 - 2...........................-1.00............................ 2 - 1..........................+4.50
12/02/2017..................1 - 3 - 1......................-11.50...........................4 - 3..........................+3.50
12/01/2017..................2 - 5 - 1......................-17.50...........................1 - 3..........................-11.50

Totals....................47 - 64 - 3........................-117.00......................58 - 62- 1.......................+15.50

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Wednesday's six-pack

Odds to win their first World Series title before these other teams do:

7-5— Washington Nationals

3-1— Colorado Rockies

8-1— Seattle Mariners

8-1— Tampa Bay Rays

8-1— Texas Rangers

15-1— Milwaukee Brewers

20-1— San Diego Padres


**********

Armadillo: Wednesday's List of 13: Mid-week musings…….

13) If you bet the San Francisco 49ers over/under win total for this season, your mood turned when Jimmy Garoppolo became the Niners’ starting QB.

When the 49ers were 0-9, under 4.5 wins looked golden; now they’re 5-10 and under is a loser, over is a surprising winner, which is a good example of how season-long prop bets can be dicey, since Garoppolo was in Foxboro for the first half of this season.

12) If you have Showtime on your TV and are looking for some good binge-watching, Season 2 of Billions will run all day Sunday, starting at 7am. Season 1 ran all day Christmas Eve; got to see some episodes of this terrific program before and after football, which was fun.

11) In their last five games, Arizona Cardinals have held their opponents to 10-58 on third down, which is really good defense. Redbirds are only 7-8, but they’re still playing hard.

10) Speaking of the Cardinals, reports are out that Bruce Arians won’t be back as coach next year. Arians is 48-30-1 in Arizona, but is 65 and has had some health issues recently. Redbirds have an older roster (11 players are older than Sean McVay)- they’re going to miss Arians.

9) I mentioned Artis Gilmore briefly last week; the former Jacksonville center played 17 years in the NBA/ABA— he played 80+ games in 13 times, including his first eight years in ABA, where teams didn’t own their own airplanes, and teams sometimes played three nights in a row.

Gilmore averaged 18.7 ppg, 12.3 rpg in his career; he played 41+ mpg in his first four years, 37.4+ mpg in seven of his first eight years, 34.1+ mpg in his first 11 years. In other words, he wasn’t soft like some of today’s stars, who whine about every little inconvenience while making eight figure salaries.

8) If you didn’t see DeAndre Hopkins’ TD catch against the Steelers Monday night, go find it on ESPN.com on YouTube— just a great catch.

7) Surprising fact: This is first time since 2010 the Steelers have a first round bye in the playoffs.

6) US Presidents are not allowed to accept gifts from foreign governments that are worth more than $390; am wondering how they came up with that amount as a limit, but thats the rule.

5) I was wondering about this so I looked it up; in NFL games this season where turnovers were even, the favorite is 27-28-2 vs spread this season. Was hoping for a more dramatic %age that would tell me something, but we don’t always get what we want.

4) Miami Dolphins have only three rushing TD’s this year; only team in last 20 years with fewer than that? The 2005 Arizona Cardinals had only two rushing TD’s all season.

3) Paxton Lynch will start at QB for the Broncos this week………I’m really not sure why, other than they want to take one more look at Lynch before the offseason. Denver has to make a move for a franchise quarterback this winter— it is hard to believe that their 2018 starter is currently on their roster, but I said the same thing about them at this time last year.

2) New England Patriots signed LB James Harrison for the rest of the season, after the Steelers surprisingly cut him last week. The 39-year old Harrison lost his starting job this season- he played a total of 40 snaps the whole season.

1) Isaiah Thomas is going to be ready to play pretty soon, which is going to change some things for the Cavaliers; Thomas was the #3 scorer in the NBA last year for Boston; he played 33.8 mpg LY, so that is 33 minutes a game that current Cavaliers are going to sit.

Cleveland is 24-10, so the guys who’ve been playing now are doing well; going to take selfless guys to accept a “demotion” with Thomas returning, and it will take a few games for everyone to get used to playing together, with some guys taking a lot fewer shots, and even Thomas having the ball a lot less than he is used to having it.

[StarDust Bum]

SCHEDULE FOR THURSDAY DECEMBER 28, 2017
Time (ET) Away Home Site
7:00 PM Detroit Pistons Orlando Magic Amway Center
8:00 PM Houston Rockets Boston Celtics TD Garden
8:00 PM Minnesota Timberwolves Milwaukee Bucks BMO Harris Bradley Center
8:30 PM New York Knicks San Antonio Spurs AT&T Center
10:30 PM Philadelphia 76ers Portland Trail Blazers Moda Center at the Rose Quarter

*****************


DATE W-L-T % UNITS RECORD

12/27/2017 N O P L A Y S
12/26/2017 N O P L A Y S
12/25/2017 5-5-0 50.00% -2.50
12/23/2017 10-15-0 40.00% -32.50
12/22/2017 7-9-1 43.75% -14.50
12/21/2017 5-5-0 50.00% -2.50
12/20/2017 14-6-0 70.00% +37.00
12/19/2017 3-3-0 50.00% -1.50
12/18/2017 7-13-0 35.00% -36.50
12/17/2017 3-5-0 37.50% -12.50
12/16/2017..........NO PLAYS
12/15/2017 13-6-0 68.42% +32.00
12/14/2017 5-5-0 50.00% -2.50
12/13/2017 3-6-0 33.33% -18.00
12/12/2017 5-9-0 35.71% -24.50
12/11/2017......... NO PLAYS
12/10/2017 6-6-0 50.00% -3.00
12/09/2017 6-13-0 31.58% -41.50
12/08/2017 7-9-0 43.75% -14.50
12/07/2017 3-5-0 37.50% -12.50
12/06/2017 10-8-2 55.55% +6.00
12/05/2017 5-1-0 83.33% +19.50
12/04/2017 6-10-0 37.50% -25.00
12/03/2017 5-5-0 50.00% -2.50
12/02/2017 7-8-1 46.66% -9.00
12/01/2017 4-12-0 30.00% -46.00

Totals.........129- 156......45.26%.......-213.00

BEST BETS:.......................ATS................... ......UNITS...........................O/U............................UNITS

12/27/2017.............................................N O P L A Y S................................................. ............0.00
12/26/2017............................................ N O P L A Y S................................................. ...........0.00
12/25/2017..................1 - 3........................-11.50..................................3 - 1.........................+9.50
12/23/2017..................4 - 6........................-13.00.................................4 - 6........................-13.00
12/22/2017..................2 - 3.........................-6.50..................................3 - 3........................-1.50
12/21/2017..................2 - 3.........................-6.50..................................3 - 2........................+4.50
12/20/2017..................7 - 2........................+24.00................... ............4 - 2........................+9.00
12/19/2017..................1 - 2.........................-6.00..................................2 - 1.......................+4.50
12/18/2017..................2 - 5.........................-17.50................................2 - 7.......................-28.50
12/17/2-17...................2 - 2 ........................-1.00.................................1 - 2 ........................-6.00
12/16/2017......................................N O P L A Y S................................................. ...............
12/15/2017..................4 - 1..........................+14.50................. ............4 - 3........................+3.50
12/14/2017....................2 - 0..........................+10.00................. ...........2 - 2........................-1.00
12/13/2017....................1 - 3..........................-11.50.............................1- 2.........................-6.00
12/12/2017..................1 - 4...........................-17.00............................3 - 2.........................+4.00
12/11/2017...................................... N O P L A Y S................................................. .............
12/10/2017.................1 - 3...........................-11.50............................3 - 0.........................+15.00
12/09/2017...................1 - 6...........................-28.00............................3 -1..........................+4.50
12/08/2017....................3 - 2...........................+4.00................. ..........3 - 3..........................-1.50
12/07/2017....................0 - 2...........................-11.00...........................2 - 1.........................+4.50
12/06/2017................2 - 2 - 1.........................-1.00..........................4 - 1 - 1......................+14.50
12/05/2017..................2 - 1...........................+4.50................. ..........3 - 0.........................+15.00
12/04/2017..................4 - 4...........................-2.00.............................1 - 3..........................-11.50
12/03/2017..................2 - 2...........................-1.00............................ 2 - 1..........................+4.50
12/02/2017..................1 - 3 - 1......................-11.50...........................4 - 3..........................+3.50
12/01/2017..................2 - 5 - 1......................-17.50...........................1 - 3..........................-11.50

Totals....................47 - 64 - 3........................-117.00......................58 - 62- 1.......................+15.50

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

— Butler 91, Georgetown 89 2OT— Bulldogs trailed by 20 in this game.

— Xavier 91, Marquette 87— Marquette was 15-38 on arc, 17-31 inside arc, and still lost.

— Eagles beat Oakland Monday nite, but gained only 37 total yards in second half.

— Detroit Pistons’ PG Reggie Jackson (grade 3 ankle sprain) is out 6-8 weeks.

— Purdue 38, Arizona 35— Best bowl game this season so far.

— Pelicans 128, Nets 113— Rajon Rondo is first NBA player with 25 assists in a game since Jason Kidd, in 1996


**********

Armadillo: Thursday's List of 13: Doing some thinking out loud…….

13) OK, so it is really cold in beautiful upstate New York this week, where I live. I’m in the grocery store Wednesday, buying some non-nutritional food items, and I see this guy walk in the store wearing a jacket and shorts. It is 15 freakin’ degrees out. This genius has shorts on.

Guy looked like he was in his mid-late 40’s. I had a parka on over a sweatshirt and I was still freezing. This guy had shorts on, not even gym shorts, the kind you wear in summer. Oy.

12) Duke 36, Northern Illinois 14— NIU tried the worst fake punt I’ve even seen- seriously.

4:32 left in first quarter, Duke leading 7-0. Northern Illinois has 4th-and-18 at their own 11— their punter catches the snap and throws a long pass to the gunner going down the sideline on the right— the pass bounces couple yards short of the receiver, who was 3-4 yards short of the line to gain anyway, and he was covered, to boot. Simply awful.

The TV announcers were stunned, tried to be kind, but it was coaching malpractice. Duke scored a TD three plays later, led 14-0 on their way to an easy 36-14 win.

11) UCLA kicker JJ Molson is an 8th generation member of the Molson family, who own part of the largest brewery in Canada. His dad’s cousin owns the Montreal Canadiens; the kid’s mother is an optometrist- their family’s net worth is estimated a $1.6B, thats billion, with a B.

JJ Molson turned down a scholarship offer from Alabama to kick at UCLA. Before this season, he had never kicked before a crowd larger than 1,000 people.

10) Utah 30, West Virginia 14— Utah coach Kyle Whittingham is the King of Bowls; he is 11-1 in bowls as a head coach. Utes weren’t even that good this year (7-6) but they won this game easily.

9) Weird scene after the Seattle-Dallas game Sunday, with Seahawks’ DB Earl Thomas running up to Cowboys coach Jason Garrett in the tunnel after the game and apparently asking Garrett to recruit him in free agency this winter. You don’t see that every day.

8) 91-year old Mel Brooks has been an actor, writer, producer, director, comedian, composer. He is a comic genius- his resume goes from Get Smart to Blazing Saddles to The Producers. Brooks was married to the great actress Anne Bancroft for 41 years before she passed away in 2005.

During World War II, Brooks was a corporal in the 78th Infantry Division, defusing landmines. What a life he’s had, but it was amazing to me that the guy who created such great comedy spent part of his life under the greatest pressure imaginable, defusing landmines in a war. Wow.

7) Phoenix Suns beat Memphis 99-97 Tuesday night on a great side out-of-bounds play with 0:00.6 left; the inbounder basically tried to put his pass in the basket, then Tyson Chandler simply tipped it home at the buzzer- there cannot be offensive goaltending on a shot that wouldn’t be a legal basket, such as an in-bounds pass. Clever strategy by Suns’ coach Jay Triano.

6) All the NFL games with playoff implications are being played at 4:25 Sunday, to increase the drama as far as who makes/misses the playoffs.

Ravens’ coach John Harbaugh was whining Tuesday that the late start might hurt the crowd in Baltimore, saying, “I don’t think the NFL did us any favors by moving it back, but they don’t care about us. So, we just have to care about ourselves. We have to take care of our own business. That goes for our team, for our fans and for our city. Let’s go win the football game.”

Playing the “us against the world” card. Jeez, all they have to do is beat the Bengals.

5) Jacksonville Jaguars have had 13 players who started every game this season; Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had one. Part of winning is the good fortune of staying healthy.

4) Saw a scary story on the Interweb this week about how Houston Astros’ coach Rich Dauer almost died at the Astros’ World Series parade/celebration just after the World Series.

Turns out Dauer had fallen and banged his head the day before, and he had bleeding on the brain the next day. Doctors performed an aamergency operations and he came thru it well, in a situation where one doctor had given him a 3% chance of having a complete recovery.

3) Rams are sitting out lot of starters this week, notably Todd Gurley/Jared Goff, which means QB Sean Mannion will make his first NFL start……….likewise for the Chiefs, with Alex Smith taking a seat in Denver this week— rookie Patrick Mahomes gets his first NFL start.

2) Chicago Bulls are 3-20 with Nikola Mirotic out of the lineup this season; they’re 9-2 since he got back in the lineup. Mirotic was out of the lineup because he got punched out by teammate Bobby Portis in a practice before the season started and his cheekbones got broken. Not good.

1) Disappointing news from the Arena Football front, where apparently the Tampa Bay Storm have closed up shop, meaning the AFL is down to four teams this season, which obviously isn’t a good situation. Arenaball is a great, affordable night out; hopefully more cities will be interested in having a team and the league can become popular again, like it was in the 90’s.

[StarDust Bum]

NBA
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, December 28

Pistons lost three of last four games with Orlando; they’re 2-2 vs spread in last four visits here. Seven of last ten series games went over the total. Detroit won five of its last six games; they’re 2-1 vs spread as road underdogs. Three of their last four games went over total. Orlando lost its last nine games; they’re 3-5 as home underdogs. Five of last seven Magic games stayed under total.

Houston won six of last eight games with Boston; they’re 2-3 vs spread in last five visits to Beantown. Last ten series games stayed under the total. Rockets lost their last three games after a 14-game win streak; Houston is 9-5 vs spread on road, 1-1 as an underdog. Eight of their last ten games went over total. Boston lost three of its last five games; they’re 10-7-2 vs spread at home, 2-0 as underdogs. Over is 8-2 in their last ten home games.

Bucks won five of their last six games with Minnesota; under is 7-3 in last ten series games. Wolves are 2-3 vs spread in last five visits to Wisconsin. Minnesota won its last five games; they’re 5-4 as road underdogs. Seven of Wolves’ last eight games went over total. Milwaukee lost five of its last seven games; they’re 6-7-2 as home favorites. Bucks’ last nine games went over the total.

Knicks lost three of last four games with San Antonio; they covered four of last five visits to the Alamo. Over is 5-2-1 in last eight series games. Knicks lost four of last five games; they’re 3-8 vs spread as road underdogs. Four of their last five games stayed under total. San Antonio won five of its last six games; they’re 10-6 as home favorites. Six of their last nine games stayed under the total.

Home side won last six Philly-Portland games. 76ers covered three of last four visits to Oregon. Four of last five series games stayed under. Philadelphia lost nine of its last 11 games; they’re 2-5 vs spread in last seven games as a road underdog. Three of their last four games stayed under the total. Portland lost there of its last four games; they’re 2-10-1 vs spread as home favorites. Seven of last eight Blazer games went under the total.




NBA

Thursday, December 28

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Trend Report
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DETROIT @ ORLANDO
Detroit is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 10 of Detroit's last 13 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Orlando's last 5 games at home
Orlando is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Detroit

HOUSTON @ BOSTON
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Houston's last 10 games when playing Boston
Houston is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Boston's last 10 games when playing Houston
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Boston's last 5 games when playing at home against Houston

MINNESOTA @ MILWAUKEE
Minnesota is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Milwaukee's last 5 games at home

NEW YORK @ SAN ANTONIO
The total has gone OVER in 5 of New York's last 5 games when playing on the road against San Antonio
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New York's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of San Antonio's last 5 games when playing at home against New York
San Antonio is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home

PHILADELPHIA @ PORTLAND
Philadelphia is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Portland
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Philadelphia's last 5 games when playing Portland
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Portland's last 8 games
Portland is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Philadelphia